I don't think he needs a technical coach. He has skated the way he has been skating the last two years. It's just that others have overtaken him to some extent, but they are not so far ahead that he needs to panic. He had just one major mistake (fall) in his LP; the other one on the 3A was less serious. About him tagging on a jump after his second quad- it's just something he needed to learn. I am sure he will not make that mistake again.

I think Patrick Chan is "entitled" to make his own decisions. Besides, it's not as if Patrick didn't make technical mistakes in his programs when Christy Krall was his coach. And, in any case, there is someone with technical expertise on his team right now.

But, perhaps one of the poll options might be: Should Chan choose a more experienced coach for the Olympic season while keeping Kathy Johnson as his dance/ artistic coach and mentor?

I just feel like Patrick lacks the structure, coaching-wise, he seemed to have in the past. Krall is an excellent coach, and I'm sorry she's no longer Patrick's.

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I agree. Kristy is a disciplinarian and I don't think that was working for him. He said he wanted to "take more control" of his training. Read that as "I want to train and skate how and when I want".

I'm not a fan of this. I'm a believer in structure. Patrick doesn't need to be taught how to skate or jump but he, like anyone, would need regular tweaking. Just like in golf, for example, athletes develop bad habits in their technique regularly and this must be kept in line. Who's doing that for him now?

I think he needs technical maintenance and a disciplined approach to training. Yes, there's a "between the ears" factor probably because he knows he's being watched closely by fans and the federation; he's feeling pressure to show his new approach is working. But you can bet if he finishes 3rd or lower in London Skate Canada will be all over him to go back to more traditional coaching methods.

Of course, it is because they want Patrick to add a Beillmann and this is how they give him the message.

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Or maybe Patrick needs his own version of a lucky Pooh bear!

Anyways, I doubt Patrick is going back to Krall, nor will he dump Kathy Johnson. Brian Orser is taken ... or should I say already has his hands full with Fernandez and Hanyu. Patrick's not going to go to Frank Carroll. Really, at this stage of Patrick's career, who else is there? ... Toller Cranston has been out of the scene for so many years, he's not the kind of coach Patrick would need I don't think. And once again, Patrick's not going to dump Kathy Johnson. How exactly does he describe her role in his training process? Who was Buttle's former coach? Are there good Canadian technical coaches Patrick might consider? I think he already is getting technical advice from someone.

Also, reminder: Patrick began to have technical miscues when he was still working with Christy Krall. So, why does everyone think it's a technical problem that needs to be addressed? It could be an approach to training problem, as someone already mentioned.

IMHO, it's more that incorporating the quad consistently (even if it has been mastered) is a difficult problem for all the top men. It's a lot more difficult than the sport is noticing or acknowledging. Patrick is not the only one with technical inconsistencies this season and past seasons (and the 3-axel has never been an easy or consistent jump for him). The main difference, IMO, is that the judges were kinder to Patrick when he made mistakes the past two seasons, and I think he got very used to that benevolence, which frankly was upended in Nice.

I agree. Kristy is a disciplinarian and I don't think that was working for him. He said he wanted to "take more control" of his training. Read that as "I want to train and skate how and when I want".

I'm not a fan of this. I'm a believer in structure. Patrick doesn't need to be taught how to skate or jump but he, like anyone, would need regular tweaking. Just like in golf, for example, athletes develop bad habits in their technique regularly and this must be kept in line. Who's doing that for him now?

I think he needs technical maintenance and a disciplined approach to training. Yes, there's a "between the ears" factor probably because he knows he's being watched closely by fans and the federation; he's feeling pressure to show his new approach is working. But you can bet if he finishes 3rd or lower in London Skate Canada will be all over him to go back to more traditional coaching methods.

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Patrick is an adult. I think only he knows what works for him- a structured approach or a more flexible approach. I was surprised when he decided to leave Krall, but apparently he was not happy with her approach. I don't see anything wrong in him trying a different style of coaching. This is not the Olympic year, and there is enough time to make some adjustments. I don't believe those would include going back to Krall though.

I was surprised when he decided to leave Krall, but apparently he was not happy with her approach. I don't see anything wrong in him trying a different style of coaching. This is not the Olympic year, and there is enough time to make some adjustments. I don't believe those would include going back to Krall though.

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Sigh! He didn't leave Krall, Krall decided to leave because she's not happy with Patrick's intention to focus more on artistry.

^ I don't know what you are talking about. The program was a splat fest for sure but the basic skating was the same and he achieved somethings by 14 that some Olympic Champions could not replicate. I really liked his jump entrances, even if they ultimately resulted in a fall.

Of course Patrick knows what he is doing and is an adult and can make all his own decisions etc. But a skater needs a knowledgable pair of eyes looking at them all the time to pick out the small changes in body position and balance that you CANNOT perceive yourself. Patrick's air positions are becoming inconsistant and that is a slippery slope.
Re the GPF: this business of not knowing how to change his program and which jump to make into the combo etc. after he fell in the long program just shows that he wasn't prepared by his coach. What coach would EVER send a skater into competition (even a 10 year old!) without discussing a "plan B' for moving the combo jumps if a fall happens? For goodness sakes he is at the top of the skating world and they didn't discuss and practice this? Time to get a skating coach Patrick.

Sigh! He didn't leave Krall, Krall decided to leave because she's not happy with Patrick's intention to focus more on artistry.

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Or, more specifically, he wished to downgrade Krall's role from head coach to instructor, with Kathy Johnson getting a promotion (recalling that he'd been working with her for at least a year). Krall decided at that point to terminate her working relationship with Chan.

^ I don't know what you are talking about. The program was a splat fest for sure but the basic skating was the same and he achieved somethings by 14 that some Olympic Champions could not replicate. I really liked his jump entrances, even if they ultimately resulted in a fall.

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??? His jumps entrances now are completely different than what they are in the video. His arms are lower now on the take off; the edge on his lutz is now on an outside edge; his flip takeoff is striaght now; his toe-picking leg on the lutz is also lower.

... my eyes still see correct edges for his jump entrances, but you are right about the air position, entrance turns/steps, and picking on his jumps, but he was a gangly 14 year old, so not much would be the same after 2 years.

I don't think the judges are preferring Hanyu over Chan this season, or they were giving Chan a free pass last year. Chan's win with mistakes was because others at the same competition weren't clean either (SP+LP). Looking at Chan's GPF marks, with mistakes Chan is still getting the highest PCS (~5 pts higher than Hanyu ~3pts higher than Takahashi). If Chan skates clean with two quads, he is still unbeatable.

Krall did everything for Patrick. She provide a strong structural plan for that was working. Kathy Johnson first started as an off-ice dance instructor which i believe worked well for him. However Kathy Johnson slowly went from off-ice, to on-ice training. That on-ice training went from improving his artistic to attempting to help his jumps by talking about his soul and his chi. Obviously jumps have nothing to do with your soul and your chi and krall knew this. Krall then slowly became more of a secondary coach instead of primary coach which is ridiculous because Krall is clearly the real coach in this situation and johnson is just some stupid obnoxious lady that went to julliard. Krall told Patrick that she needs to be primary coach or she will quit, but patrick wanted johnson.

I was coaching in Colorado Springs at the time and this is the story i heard

Patrick needs Krall. Jumps do not work because your chi is aligned. Jumps are about technique and Krall provides that.

The judges seem not to want that one skater dominates the field, though the skater(Chan, Voir) is a talent of all-time level.
I don&#8216;t think that Canada federation have that strong power in ISU as many people claim.